Refrigerating apparatus.



R. M. HUNTER.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS. APPLIQATION 'FILED 11110.31, 1897. 1,01 5,951Patented .131130, 1912.

, 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

R. M. HUNTER. REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DB0: 31, 189'/1,015,957. Patented JaILSO, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

RUDOLPH M. HUNTER, OF PHILADELPHIA, IPEINNSYLVANIA.

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS.

To all whom, t may concern Be it known that I,"RUD0LPH M. HUNTER, of thecity and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented anImprovement in Refrigeratingv Apparat-us, of which `the following is aspecification.

My invention has reference to refrigeratingapparatus and consists ofcertain improvements which are fully set forth in the followingspecification and shown in the accompanying drawings which form a partthereof.

This applicati/on has special reference to means for varying thetemperature of compartments and more particularly for cooling orrefrigerating distant compartments Aor rooms of buildings. In thepreferred form of my'invention I utilize the heating apparatus employedin cold weather as the means of extracting the heat from the rooms orvarying the temperature of the compartments in summer.

In large buildings, such as hotels and office buildings, a steam heatingplant is employed to properly heat the buildings in the winter, butthisremains idle in summer. I propose utilizing the heating system,preferably including the radiators, as the means of cooling the rooms bypassing through them governed quantities of cold brine, air. or otherfluid rendered cold by suitable refrigerating processes at aconsiderable distance from the rooms to be cooled. When air is used partor all of it may be allowed to escape into the room or compartment. Incarryingout this'part .of my invention I provide the steam supply pipewith a valve system of pipes and radiatorsand also to act by which theconnection with the steam boilers or exhaust of the engine can bei cutolf. I further provide a brine tank adapted to receive the water ormedia returned from the as a 'source of supply for a pump which forcest-he1 cold b rine or media upward through the system of pipes andradiators. The brine tank is further combined with suitablerefrigerating apparatus for cooling the brine or media to a lowtemperature. In this manner the heating system of pipes is utilized inWarm weather'as the immediate holder of the cooling media and permittingits full circulation in' every direction,

thus performing the dual function of both [y heating and cooling. Thecost of equipment is thus low, and -in the case of large hotelsSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 30, 1912.

Application iled December 31, 1897. Serial'No. 664,808.

-which already are supplied with refrigerat-l ing plant the same may bereadily combined with the heating system by the proper connections andvalves. Any4 suitable means for cooling the brine or circulating mediamay be employed, but where the apparatus is of considerable size thecompression system would be preferable.

While I have above referred to cooling rooms in a building, I mayequally employ my invent-ion in connection with railway ,cars whetherfor passenger or freight. Where heating pipes for steam leadingfrom theengine areemployed to heat the cars they may be utilized, as aboveexplained with regard tothe heating system in buildlngs, for cooling thecars, as will be more fully explained hereinafter. Now while my-invention`is adapted to be a syst-em for alternately heating andcooling distant rooms or compartments it is not confined to asystem-which shall be used for heating since the invention maybe usedwholly `for'cooling or s refrigeration where heating is not required.

My linvention will be better understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figurel is a side elevation of a railway.'

train, part` .in section showing my improvements applied thereto; Fig. 2is adiagran showing a different type of refrigerating apments; and Fig.3 is a sectional elevation of paratus adapted for use with my improveabuilding showing my invention applied thereto. l I

Referring rst, to the construction shown in Fig. 1 I have illustrated atrain of cars especially adapted to the transportation of perishablegoods. In this ligure A represents the locomotive, the rear portion ofthe tender alone being shown. B is the car containing the refrigerat-ingapparatus'proper and vC one of the cars in which the goods to betransported are to be placed. The car C` i consists of compartmentsclosed against the outside atmosphere and provided with coils,- Gthrough which the media to vary the tem-- peratture ,is passed. Eachlcar is also provided with a longitudinal supply pipe F and the returnpipe H with which the respective ends of the coil G are connected.Suitable valves l' g or either of them may be employedl in the terminalsofthe coil to control the flow of the' media to -be passed 4through thecoil. The ends o f the pipes' H,

housev air brake system. 'When the cars C are intended .to transportperishable merchandise such as meats or vegetables 1t 1s made like 'abox-car having tight doors and the media which is passed through thecoil G is a refrigerant such as a cold brine. If the car C is intendedfor passenger service, then the coils G may be employed to heat the carin winter and cool it in summer by pass ing'steam through it in thewinter time and a refrigerant such -as cold brine or cold air in summertime. This would largely obviate the great objection to opening thewindows and doors of trains in the summer usually made necessary by theexcessive heat. The particular character lof the car C or compartment onwhe'els is therefore immaterialand while in the fullest carrying out ofmy invention a very large variation ofA temperature to suit therequirements of winter or summer may be secured, nevertheless' it is notnecessary to employ my apparatus for heating purposes at all.

Referring now to the car B we have therein a tank D adapted to containbrine. A pipez' connects with the saidtank and terminates in a flexiblecoupling adapted to unite With the coupling of the pipe H at I so thatthe return of the brine to the tank D after cooling the compartment C issecured. A discharge pipe e leads from the brine tank near the bottomand terminates in a coupling adapted to connectwith the flexiblecoupling at I leading from the supply pipe F ofthe car C. A pump E isarranged in the car B to circulate brine through pipe e so that coldbrine is positively forced through the pipe F. The amount of the coldbrine which circulates through any one ofthe coils G in the cars C maybe controlled by either or both of the valves g Z. The brine tank D isprovided with `a cooling coil J of any suitable construction the upperend of which leadsto a condenser L, and the lower end of which connectswith a compressor K also arranged within the car B. The compressor Kcompresses the gas such as anhydrosulfurous acid, which then enters they condenser L under pressure and is liquefied. From there it is forcedover into the c oil J of the tank D and vaporized, the vapor being drawnoff again by the compressor as is well known. In this manner the brineor Whatever circulating media may be used and contained in the tank D iskept in a cold condition so that the warmer media returned by the pipel1I is again chilled or cooled before being forced through the 1 variouscars by the pump E.

The condenser L in the lcar B requires a constant change of water tocondense the anhydrosulfurous acid, and this is secured by a water pipem including a pump for forcing the Water into the condenser. The pipe mcommunicates with a water pipe m leading from the tank O of the tenderof the` locomotive A with which it is connected by a flexible couplingN. In this manner cold water may be forced by the pump M into thecondenser and the Warm water allowed to overflow by a pipe n anddischarge through a flexible coupling N into the upper part of the tankO of the tender. When the coils G are intended for heating purposes itis then necessary to circulate steam through the pipes F H, and this Iaccomplish in the following manner. A pipe P on the locomotive leadsfrom the boiler and 'connects by a suitable coupling with pipe P on thecar B from which steam may be supplied for operating the pumps andcompressor. Pipe P2' connects the pipe v1 with lthe pipe e and isprovided with a valve. By opening the valve in this pipe P2 steam maypass into the pipe F on the car C and may be permitted to escape afterpassing through the coilsG, or more preferably returned by the pipe z'to the tank D in which a partial vacuum is maintained by the pump E sothat the steam circulates at a pressure below that of the atmosphere onthe, prlnciple of the, well known vacuum system. In this case `a valve dis arranged in the pipe e and be.-

the brine or other circulating media, I mayv use ammonia or any otherhighly volatile substance. In lieu of the particular apparatus forrefrigerating shown in the compartment B using the compressor K, I mayemploy an ammonia refrigerator operated by the application of heat, suchfor instance as shown in Fig. 2. In this case the tank D containing thebrine is connected with the pipes i and e leading to the couplings I asbefore, and including the `circulating pump similar to that previouslydescribed. R and R are two generators and consist of closed tankscontaining strong solutions of ammonia. They are each provided withcoils connecting with steam and water supply. When steam is admitted toythe coils of one of these generators water is admitted to the coil ofthe other and vice versa, so that one generator drives ofll the ammoniaby heat, while the other generator acts as an absorber and vcauses theammoniacal gas to be absorbed. The upright pipes from those generatorsconnect with a condenser L Which at its discharge end connects withtherefrigerator coil J in the brine tank D. The

being generated in generator R the valve 1" is closed and valve 7 open,and likewise valve c is closed and valve c." open. The ammonia iscondensed in the condenser L and is allowed to evaporate or expand inthe coil J. The expanded ammonia passes 'by pipe j through valve c andinto the absorber R. When the ammonia is approxi'- mately all driven offfromrthe water'in the generator R, the valves which were formerly openare then closed and the valves which were formerly-closed are thenopened and now the generator R produces the ammoniacal gas `while thegenerator R becomesthe absorber. The stealn and water for operating thissystem may be received from the locomotive. If desired a separate watertank may be carried in car B.

When my improvements are applied to buildings,` such as Vlarge oiiicebuildings Where there are large numbers of rooms or apartmentsseparated. from each other, I provide preferably supply and return pipesF H leading to the distant parts of the buildings as indicated in Fig.3. There may be as many of these ret-urn and supply pipes as the natureof the building may require, but they all lead to-one place'where therefrigeratlng and heating apparatus islocated, usually in thebasement.

More specifically referring to Fig. 3, C represent different rooms and Bthe room 'or chamber in the basement for the heating and refrigeratingapparatus. F and H are supply and return pipes corresponding to theusual pipes in steam heating apparatus.

G are the radiators `or heating coils arranged in each ofithe rooms andconnected through valves, g,^l respectively with the supply pipe k F andreturn pipe H so that the various heaters or coils G are arranged inparallel'. W is the usual steam pipe and may b e provided with a valve kto control the supply of steamor shut it olf. The pipe lV' may lead fromthe exhaust pipe of the engine or from the boiler as preferred as iscustom-ary. In winter time the steam is caused to circulate .throughpipe F coils Gr and 'return pipe H. Furthermore, lin the most improvedtypes of steam heating apparatus the circulation of the steam is in-`duced by the production and maintenance of a partial vacuum at thereturn end of the system, and for thispurpose a tank T is providedconnecting with the return pipe H by the pipe S which ma'y be furnishedwith a valve w. A partial vacuum may be maintained in the tank T bypum/pE connectedv which may have a valve p to shut '70E- communication ofrthetank with the pump when the latter is circulating the cooling media. Thedischarge 'side of the pumpmay lead by a pipe e through a valve d to theescape pipe U. Thepipe e isshown as a continuation of the supply pipe Fbut may be separated from it by closing a valve k. By. operating thepump E during the use of the apparatus as al steam heating system thesteam is caused to flow at a pressure at o1' below that 'of theatmosphere through pipe F, coils Gr and return pipe H and the water ot'condensation received in the tank T may be forced by a boiler feed pumpt into Jthe boiler. In the warm summer time when 'it is' desired to coolthe place I close the valves 7c, w, d and p and open the valve -b in thereturn pipe leading at z' into the brine tank D. Thevalve z is alsoopened to form communication between the` discharge of the pump E andthesupply pipe F. The suction of the pump 1s also connected to the vlower part ofthe tank D, which connection may or may not be providedwith avalve as desired. The tank Dis provided with the refrigeratingcoil J as in the case of Fig. 1,

lower end of the coil J. P isa steam pipe for supplying steam to thesteam engine of the compressor.4 The condenser L may be suppliedY withWater by the water main fm land which may be extended as at m to supplywater to the vbrine tank D when necessary. A discharge pipe n may beemployed to permit the water to circulate through the vcondIiSer L;. m

The operation of the apparatus to cool the rooms is precisely the sameas that described in connection with Fig. 1v where the dierf ent carscorrespond to the different rooms.

be connected by a valved pipe Z with the return Apipe H so that whenemploying the circulating brine as a cooling media the valve Z maybeclosed and Z. may be open'to insure the complete circulation yof thebrine throughout the entireN radiator when made of the formusuallyfound' in steam-heating apparatus for buildings. This precautionwith the tank T by` providing a pipe Q,

.would not be necessary Where. ordinary heating coils such as used infactories are employed as those coils are of substantially theconstruction shown in G in Fig. l.

While I have described the circulation of brine as a media on account ofthe intense temperature which can be given to it without freezing I donot confine myself to a liquid, for instead I may simply circulate air,causing it to pass through the tank D to secure the necessary lowtemperature before being passed through the supply'pipe F and theradiators G. Where air is employed it is not essential that the airshall be circulated over and over again as no harmful eEects will resultfrom permitting the air to es-V cape from thepipes intothe compartmentsor rooms C through suitable outlets G. In this case the air would bepermitted to enter the tankD by a valved pipe D which may communicatewith the outside of the building to secure fresh air. The airuponpassing through the tank D becomes greatly reduced in temperature and isthen forced upward into the supply pipe F into the rooms or compartmentsC by the pump or any suitable blower. If desired the cold air may firstbe required to pass through the coils G to use them as refrigeratingcoils to cool the circulating air and may then escape through a valvedorifice G2. I have shown this valve in dotted lines as opening from theupper end of the coils G, but it is self evident that its particularconnection with the coils is immaterial as I do not'confine myself tothe minor details. In this manner the cooling effect of the coils ismaintained while at the same time permitting the actual escape of partor all of the air into the room. It isv also evident that by properlymanipulating the valve the air may be circulated through the coils Gremploying the supply and return mains F H and at the same time permitthe reasonable amount of the cooling air to escape from the valvedorifices G or G2 into the room to secure fresh air, and such loss fromthe circulating system to be regained by the valved pipe D. Y In thismanner I maintain the great cooling effec-t of the radiators while atthe same time permitting a large part of the cooling media to escapeinto the room to impart the necessary Afreshness to the air where thereis not a sufficient draft or natural means to secure the` singleorganization of piping both for heat- Lorena-7 ing and cooling. It willbe evident that by very slight modification and additions I can at asmall expense increase the capacity of any steam heating plant in use inconnection with such buildings to vary the temperature of thecompartments, securing the same comfort in exceedingly hot Weather thatcan be obtained in the coolest weather. In other words, by myimprovements I can give to the present piping and radiators anenormously increased capacity for varying` the limits of temperature inthe compartments.

I do not conne myself to the details of construction herein disclosed asthey may be modified and varied in numerous ways without departing fromthe principlesof my invention.

Having now describedmy invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters VvPatent, is:

'1. The combination of two or more compartments, a radiating device ineach compartment, a supply pipe and a return pipe leading to thesevera-l compartments and tank communicating with the return pipe, apump between the tank and supply pipe adapted to befy used to reduce thepressure in the return pipe, avalved steam pipe connecting with thesupply pipe, and means for permitting the pump to discharge outside ofthe supply pipe.

.connected with the radiating devices, a l

' 2. The combination of a compartment 0n wheels provided withtemperature varying coils and supply and return pipes extending' thelength of 'said vehicle, and a secon compartment on wheels provided witha' tank, a pump between the tank and supply pipe adapted to be used toreduce the pressure in the return line, and said pump and tank beingrespectively connected with the supply and return pipes by flexible pipecouplings between the two compartments on wheels, a valve pipe forsupplying steam to the supply pipe and adapted for connection with thetender of a locomotive, and a valve orifice to permit the pump todischarge'to' the atmosphere.

3. Apparatus for producing a great variation in temperature in a numberof independent closed compartments, comprising supply and returnVpipes,'combined`vvith a vacuum pump, means for causing the pump tocreate a partial vacuum 4in the return pipe or to supply pressure to thesupply pipe for causing a circulating vaporous or lui medium underwidely different conditions of temperature to flow throughfthe supplyand return pipes to and from the several compartments without mixingwith the air of said compartments, valved pipes for` causing aj'subdivision of the circulating medium and same to flow through saidcompartments at the same time without 'admixing with the" atmospherethereof, and means for varying the 1 temperature of the circulatingmedium between 32 degrees Fahnand 212 degrees Fahr. for the purpose ofproducing a warm or cold temperature as required in the va# riouscompartments.

4.' The combination of two or more compartments,' a radiating device ineach compartment, a supply pipe and a return pipe leading to the severalcompartments and connected with the radiating devices, a tankcommunicating with thek return pipe, a

pump between the tank and supply pipe,

adapted to be used to reduce the pressure in the return pipe, a Valvedsteam pipe connecting with the supply pipe, a valved passage between thereturn pipe and the pump, and means for permitting lthe pump todischarge outside of the supply pipe.

U 5.. Apparatus for producing a great vanation in temperatures in aplurality of independent compartments consistin ,of a separatetemperature'varying close receptacle 1n each compartment, supply andreturn pipes leading to all of said temperarture varying receptacles,circulating devices for causingv a reduction of pressure Vbelow thepressure of the atmosphere in the return pipe and inducing a flow ofthe-temperature producing medium through the supply pipe andsimultaneously into the plurality of in-v ing the iow of said temerature producing medium into the respectlve receptacles and means forvarying the temperature of the R. M. HUNTER.

-Witnesses l J. W. KENWORTHY, WM. EVANS.

ldependent temperature Varying closed receptacles, means forindependently regulatv circulating temperature producing-medium

